1. Was it a whisper or was it the wind? He wasn't quite sure.

He
thought he heard a voice but at this moment all he could hear was
the wind rustling the leaves of the trees all around him. He stopped
and listened more intently to see if he could hear the voice again.
Nothing but the wind rustling the leaves could be heard. He was
about to continue his walk when he felt a hand on his shoulder, and
he quickly turned to see who it was. There was nobody there, but
he heard the voice again.

2. She had been told time and time again that the most important
steps were the first and the last. It was something that she carried
within her in everything she did, but then he showed up and
disrupted everything. He told her that she had it wrong. The first
step wasn't the most important. The last step wasn't the most
important. It was the next step that was the most important.

3. He watched as the young man tried to impress everyone in the

room with his intelligence. There was no doubt that he was smart.
The fact that he was more intelligent than anyone else in the room
could have been easily deduced, but nobody was really paying any
attention due to the fact that it was also obvious that the young
man only cared about his intelligence.

4. There are different types of secrets. She had held onto plenty of
them during her life, but this one was different. She found herself
holding onto the worst type. It was the type of secret that could
gnaw away at your insides if you didn't tell someone about it, but it
could end up getting you killed if you did.
 5. It really doesn't matter what she thinks as it isn't her problem to
solve. That's what he kept trying to convince himself. She was
trying to insert her opinion where it wasn't wanted or welcome. He
already had a plan and even though that plan didn't correspond
with what she wanted him to do or what should be done, it wasn't
her decision to make. The question now became whether he would
stick to his convictions and go through with his plan knowing she
wouldn't approve.

6. Here's the thing. She doesn't have anything to prove, but she is
going to anyway. That's just her character. She knows she doesn't
have to, but she still will just to show you that she can. Doubt her
more and she'll prove she can again. We all already know this and
you will too.

7. "Do Not Enter." The sign made it clear that they didn't want
anyone around. That wasn't going to stop Jack. Jack always lived
with the notion that signs were mere suggestions, not actually
absolute rules. That's why the moment Jack looked at the "Do Not
Enter" sign, he walked past it and onto their property.

8. The song came from the bathroom belting over the sound of the
shower's running water. It was the same way each day began since
he could remember. It listened intently and concluded that the
singing today was as terrible as it had ever been.

9. There were two things that were important to Tracey. The first was
her dog. Anyone that had ever met Tracey knew how much she
loved her dog. Most would say that she treated it as her child. The
 dog went everywhere with her and it had been her best friend for
the past five years. The second thing that was important to Tracey,
however, would be a lot more surprising to most people.

10. It went through such rapid contortions that the little bear was
forced to change his hold on it so many times he became confused
in the darkness, and could not, for the life of him, tell whether he
held the sheep right side up, or upside down. But that point was
decided for him a moment later by the animal itself, who, with a
sudden twist, jabbed its horns so hard into his lowest ribs that he
gave a grunt of anger and disgust.

11."Begin today!" That's all the note said. There was no indication
from where it came or who may have written it. Had it been meant
for someone else? Meghan looked around the room, but nobody
made eye contact back. For a brief moment, she thought it might
be a message for her to follow her dreams, but ultimately decided
it was easier to ignore it as she crumpled it up and threw it away.

12.A long black shadow slid across the pavement near their feet and
the five Venusians, very much startled, looked overhead. They
were barely in time to see the huge gray form of the carnivore
before it vanished behind a sign atop a nearby building which bore
the mystifying information "Pepsi-Cola."

13.At that moment he had a thought that he'd never imagine he'd
consider. "I could just cheat," he thought, "and that would solve the
problem." He tried to move on from the thought but it was
 persistent. It didn't want to go away and, if he was honest with
himself, he didn't want it to.

14. He stared out the window at the snowy field. He'd been stuck in
the house for close to a month and his only view of the outside
world was through the window. There wasn't much to see. It was
mostly just the field with an occasional bird or small animal who
ventured into the field. As he continued to stare out the window, he
wondered how much longer he'd be shackled to the steel bar inside
the house.

15. Don't be scared. The things out there that are unknown aren't scary
in themselves. They are just unknown at the moment. Take the
time to know them before you list them as scary. Then the world
will be a much less scary place for you.

According to the caption on the bronze marker placed by the

16.
Multnomah Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution
on May 12, 1939, “College Hall (is) the oldest building in
continuous use for Educational purposes west of the Rocky
Mountains. Here were educated men and women who have won
recognition throughout the world in all the learned professions.”

17. She was aware that things could go wrong. In fact, she had trained
her entire life in anticipation that things would go wrong one day.
She had quiet confidence as she started to see that this was the day
that all her training would be worthwhile and useful. At this point,
she had no idea just how wrong everything would go that day.
18. She wanted rainbow hair. That's what she told the hairdresser. It
should be deep rainbow colors, too. She wasn't interested in pastel
rainbow hair. She wanted it deep and vibrant so there was no doubt
that she had done this on purpose.

19.The bridge spanning a 100-foot gully stood in front of him as the

last obstacle blocking him from reaching his destination. While
people may have called it a "bridge", the reality was it was nothing
more than splintered wooden planks held together by rotting ropes.
It was questionable whether it would hold the weight of a child, let
alone the weight of a grown man. The problem was there was no
other way across the gully, and this played into his calculations of
whether or not it was worth the risk of trying to cross it.

20. "Explain to me again why I shouldn't cheat?" he asked. "All the

others do and nobody ever gets punished for doing so. I should go
about being happy losing to cheaters because I know that I don't?
That's what you're telling me?"